Isengard
Game 2014-12-17 19-56-24-484.jpg Sshot0008 1387295964.jpg Sshot0006 1387295884.1.jpg Sshot0003 1387295522.1.jpg Isengardminenschacht 1387116240.jpg Isengard is an industrial powerhouse that draws most of its strength in the late game. At first, you'll have little aside from scouts, wargs, and some Dunlendings for an army, but as time passes and you expand your economy and army, you unlock useful upgrades that augment your power on the map. At the beginning of the game, your priority is to protect your territory as much as you can with what little you have. Expansion and conquest comes later when you have more options of attack and access to your formidable siege weapons and fully-upgraded Uruks. Isengard's fortress provides nothing but fences for defense, with eight build plots and defense plots. Its focus is on defense and economy in the early game, expansion and development mid-game, and aggressive destruction in the late game. Isengard has the greatest number of siege weapons for devastating enemy defenses, and their fully-upgraded Uruk-hai are among the most powerful late-game soldiers in all of Arda. Essentially, the longer that Isengard holds out in a battle, the stronger it becomes. Strategic Points Castle Isengard castles have small walls, barely visible, with multiple entrances, and 8 build plots and defense plots which can be mounted with small towers. The central fortress can be enhanced with various upgrades boosting buildings or Saruman. Camp The camp has no walls and only 6 build plots and defense plots, but the fortress can still be upgraded normally. Outpost On the outpost Isengard can build a Steelworks to purchase advanced boosts to unit upgrades, receive a high production of resources, and to defend the area with two small arrow towers which come included. Isengard can also go with a regular outpost which allows it to build the various buildings from the castle and camp selection. Settlement On the settlements Isengard can choose to build a mineshaft to produce resources, a Clan Steading to produce units from Isengard's sub-faction, Dunland: Wildmen, Wildmen Axe Throwers, and Wulfgar, or a lumber mill, lowering building cost and gathering wood resources through orc laborers. Buildings Units Naval Units Heroes Bill Ferny Bill Ferny was a man of Bree and an agent of Saruman. He would do anything to gain a profit from a situation and sold information on the Hobbits to Saruman and the Nazgul. In the Edain Mod, he wields his club and will sell his services to the player if they pay for it. Grima Wormtongue Grima Wormtongue was an advisor of King Theoden of Rohan who was later revealed to be an agent of Saruman. He worked as a spy in Edoras and tried to weaken Theoden and his kingdom. Following the ruin of Isengard, Grima killed Saruman with a dagger after his ill-treatment went too far. In the Edain Mod, he wields the knife that can be seen in the movies and uses his abilities to weaken his enemies before he can kill them. Lurtz Lurtz was the first of the Uruk-Hai to be bred successfully and was smarter and stronger than most of the others. He led the Uruk scouts to attack the Fellowship at Amon Hen, where he killed Boromir with his bow. Lurtz then fought and was killed by Aragorn soon after. In the Edain Mod, he is recruited on foot from the citadel and can switch between his bow to attack from far away and his sword if the enemy gets too close. He can use his abilities to slow and slay enemy heroes. Ugluk Ugluk was one of the strongest Uruk-Hai and was a commander of the Uruk scouts who kidnapped Merry and Pippin. He was loyal to Saruman and made sure that they only took the Hobbits to Isengard, not Mordor as Grishnákh demanded (and made sure Merry and Pippin weren't eaten either!). He was later killed by Eomer when the Uruks were ambushed near Fangorn Forest. In the Edain Mod, he wields a blade with deadly accuracy and his uruk endurance can take many hits. Sharku Sharku was a veteran orc who was in command of Saruman's warg riders. He led the attack on the Rohirrim who were retreating to Helm's Deep. During the battle, he had a short skirmish with Aragorn in which he was stabbed in the chest. He died while taunting Legolas and Gimli over Aragorn's fall off the cliff. In the game, Sharku is a crazy warg rider who excels in combat when paired up with other warg riders. Saruman Saruman was the greatest of the Istari in Middle Earth and the chief of the White Council. His studies of the Rings of Power led to him desiring the One Ring for himself. He believed that he could work with Sauron and then betray him with the power of the Ring, causing him to ally Isengard with Mordor. In the game, Saruman is your main hero as well as Isengard's Ring Hero. He is a powerful wizard with an arsenal of magical abilities to support your main troops in the thick of battle. He wields his staff and knocks back enemy units. External Buildplots Buildings Units Heroes Wulfgar Wulfgar was a chieftain of the Dunlendings. He swore allegiance to Saruman and led raids on Rohan's villages in order to reclaim their old land. In the game, Wulfgar is trained from the Clan Steading, and he excels in combat when teamed up with groups of wildmen of Dunland. Upgrades Spellbook Isengard's spellbook is comprised of spells that are balanced between supporting your soldiers and strengthening your economy. Early on, you'll have few options except for spying and empowering your soldiers, but as the game progresses, your powers will cause your economic gains to skyrocket, building up your momentum in research and development. The two endgame spells are some of the most devastating--one against enemy armies, and the other against enemy structures. Upgrades Strategy Isengard deviates from the formula of evil factions. In much the same way that Lothlorien is aggressive for a heroic faction, Isengard is defensive for a evil faction with a greater emphasis on economy and technology. Although Isengard isn't as expressly honed for defensive play like Angmar is, it still has two different defensive structures for its build plots, as well as a wealth of miniature tower plots encircling the fortress, which itself can be protected by housing Saruman and using the wizard's powers. Rather than rushing enemies with floods of troops like Mordor or the Misty Mountains, Isengard bides its time by gathering strength in the early game, protecting its territory, and stockpiling resources until it has access to its unit upgrades and siege weapons. At the beginning of the game, Isengard's tier 1 soldiers are reasonably priced for their strength, and are more focused on moving through the map quickly in search of settlements to capture or crumble. To an extent, Isengard's scouts are quite powerful and versatile, as are their siege weapons and early warg riders, but at this point of the game Isengard is better suited to harassing the enemy and hindering their control of resources and territory. Directly attacking other fortresses is also possible for Isengard, although a lot of their units of choice will be cheap, weak, and less organized rabble that are less suitable for battle and more for ambushing or attacking from unexpected angles to try and wipe out an opponent's defenses. Mid-game is when Isengard starts to become stronger, as they unlock their tier 2 units, which are significantly more powerful and specialized. As the economy of Isengard develops, they gain access to heavy Uruk-hai, which are much tougher and better suited for fighting than scouts and wild men. At this point, Isengard can start making pushes away from defense and developing larger forces for battle. Their ability to destroy buildings and rival siege weapons also becomes bolstered in the middle of the game. The late game is when Isengard reaches the pinnacle of its strength and becomes the most aggressive and dangerous. With superb soldiers and siege weaponry combined with superior unit upgrades and highly experienced hero units, Isengard makes the full transition from a passive-defensive raider into a fully-fledged warmonger faction that is equally strong against enemy forces and fortifications. Like most evil factions, Isengard has weak defenses and must rely on a combination of raiding and attacking to hold off its opponents so that it can further build its strength. As they have a wealth of defenses in the form of warg pits and arrow towers, Isengard is better suited for protecting itself in the early game, although it still pales in comparison to the defensive capabilities of other factions like Gondor and Angmar. Category:Playable Faction Category:Evil Faction Category:Orc Category:Isengard